trans-1,2-Difluoro-3,4,5,6,7,8-hexaphenyltricyclo[4.2.0.0^2,5]octa-3,7-diene

Abstract

In order to probe the possible mechanism of the rearrangement of trans-hexaphenyldifluorotricyclooctadiene (a dimer of fluorotriphenylcyclobutadiene) to pentaphenyldihydrodifluoropentalene via C-F bond migration, a high-temperature study of the title compound, C₄₄H₃₀F₂, was performed at 400 (2) K. In the title compound, there are three fused four-membered rings with the resulting eight-membered tricyclooctadiene ring adopting a sofa conformation. The dihedral angles between the central four-membered ring and the two outer rings are 66.03 (2) and 65.39 (2)°. The crystal structure contains centrosymmetric dimers formed by C-H...π interactions.